Fall 2001 p. 2

Board of Directors

Deena Burke
Cornish College of the Arts

Kate Burke
President
U. of Virginia

Marlene Johnson
Florida State University

Dorothy Runk Mennen
Founding President
Purdue University—Professor, Emerita

Kate DeVore
Private Practice

Janet Rodgers
Past President
Virginia Commonwealth U.

Karen Ryker
U, of Wisconsin-Madison

Kate Ufema
U. of Minnesota-Duluth

Officers
Kate Burke
President
U. of Virginia

Philip Thompson
Secretary
U. of California - Irvine

Lisa Wilson
Treasurer
University of Tulsa

Eric Armstrong
Conference Planner
Roosevelt University

Cynthia Blaise
Archivist
Wayen State University

Rocco Dal Vera
Journal Editor
U. of Cincinnati College Con. of Music

Micha Espinosa
Membership Chair
U. of West Virginia

Paul Meier
Newsletter Editor
University of Kansas

Christine Morris
Newsletter Associate Editor
Duke University

Rena Cook
ATHE Conference Planner

The President’s Letter

Dear VASTA members:

This past November while presiding over a VASTA board meeting for the first time (and seeing through an agenda that I had constructed!) I was struck mightily by the evolution and complexity of our organization. In 2006 we celebrate our 20th anniversary! Such growth causes growing pains and perks. Agenda item after agenda item, our Board faced the fact that we are at the crossroads (a reality alluded to in my previous letter), and we made several decisions of moment. After much discussion and soul-searching, we voted to reduce the number of VASTA Newsletters from three per year to two, eliminating the winter issue. Down the road perhaps we may have to go to web newsletters only, as several other ATHE focus groups have done. Do I hear cheers from the practical and web-savvy? Groans from those who dislike reading from a monitor or endless sheaves of computer paper? Several factors influenced this difficult decision: the shifting identity of our newsletter vis-à-vis our recently published journal; the increasing popularity and ready availability of web resources; and the ever-increasing costs of paper, ink, copying, and mailing. We value what our newsletter has done for us, and what it continues to do, and many of us lament this loss of a tangible, hand-held embodiment of our organization. Sipping, however, from a glass half-full rather than half-empty, let’s remind ourselves that we are reducing from 3 to 2, not yet eliminating. Perhaps the issues we do publish will become “thrice more wished, more rare.” It’s important to remember, too, that our journal has taken over some functions previously fulfilled by our newsletter. The current editor, Craig Ferre, has seen the newsletter through this challenging period. Thank you, Craig, for your excellent work. Paul Meier is poised to take over as editor and is percolating with ideas for a re-incarnation. Welcome aboard, Paul.

Another important milestone was the “yea” vote for a motion that VASTA, through the offices of its president, begin to investigate what benefit we might derive from the services of a grant writer. We are the North American, non- profit organization devoted to serving voice and speech practitioners. We are deserving of support and hopefully will garner some. It’s clear that finances will loom larger and larger on the horizon. Although we are non-profit, the numbers in our budgets will soon require that we report to the IRS, which will make for a more complex operation. We must find ways to cut costs and increase our income, especially considering ways of trimming costs for our November board meeting. Conference calls in lieu of meetings? There is really no substitute for hammering out issues face-to-face, especially for Talkers.

The board (via journal editor Rocco Dal Vera) is re-negotiating our publication contract with Applause Books. Signing legal contracts requires that we act carefully, thoroughly considering the ramifications of continued publication. But let us leave financial considerations aside for the moment. Letters from your president should be made of more transcendent stuff.

I extend a belated welcome to Kate Ufema, who was chosen as president-elect at our summer board meeting. Kate’s long, faithful, and varied service to VASTA, her knowledge and her pragmatism, make her the ideal candidate. I am relieved that such a capable successor waits in the wings.

As we turn the corner into the New Year we look forward to an exciting annual conference focused on speaking Shakespeare, the second issue of our journal centered on the theme of voice and violence, and publication, by Applause, of The VASTA Voice And Speech Exercise Book, compiled by past-president Janet Rodgers.

I wish all of you a healthy, creative and productive year, and look forward to seeing you in Chicago.

Peace to you and yours,

Kate Burke,
VASTA President

VASTA is a non-profit organization and also a focus group of
ATHE
Association for Theatre in Higher Education

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